'Hopeless and nasty' Clive really lets fly

CLIVE Palmer is a scoundrel and a terrible person who is unfit for parliament. That's according to the man himself.

Mr Palmer responds to senator Nick Xenophon's call for the Palmer United Party and the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party to make public the details of their alliance. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

CLIVE Palmer is a scoundrel and a terrible person who is unfit for parliament. That's according to the man himself -- the would-be federal MP whose party is poised to hold the balance of power in the next Senate.

Of course, it is possible the self-described billionaire was being sarcastic when he told a news conference yesterday: "I have got nothing, I am zero. I have got no assets. I am worthless. Hopeless. I am a nasty person. I shouldn't be in politics. What else do you want me to say?"

Mr Palmer called the news conference ostensibly to respond to senator Nick Xenophon's comments last week calling for the Palmer United Party and the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party to make public the details of their alliance. Mr Palmer dealt with that promptly, describing the South Australian senator as a "grub" who had achieved nothing and promising to release on Christmas Day his memorandum of understanding with Ricky Muir and the Motorists.

He then moved on, launching another broadside at this newspaper, its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, and continuing scrutiny of his business interests.

Mr Palmer said it was no one's business but his how long he could sustain losses at the Palmer nickel and cobalt refinery in Townsville, which he had planned to support with royalties from another venture now subject to legal dispute. "What about your house? How much is your mortgage? How much did you pay your wife to get her to marry you?" Mr Palmer fired back.

The Australian yesterday reported that Mr Palmer, in a sworn affidavit before the West Australian Supreme Court, said the operation of the QNI refinery and employment of 1000 workers depended on his company Mineralogy receiving iron ore royalties from Chinese group CITIC Pacific.

"It is just a beat-up by old Rupert because he is upset that I said Wendy Deng, his wife, is a Chinese spy, and he doesn't like that," Mr Palmer said. "And rather than Rupert come out and say anything or make a statement, he doesn't do that, he just gets his flukies* to come along, or he sends Skype messages to (editor-in-chief) Chris Mitchell at The Australian, Chris says 'go down there, give Palmer a hard time'. That is all it is about."

Mr Palmer provided the jaw-dropping moment of the election campaign when he told the Today Show's Karl Stefanovic Ms Deng had been "spying on Rupert for years giving money back to Chinese intelligence". Stefanovic told Mr Palmer he had lost the plot. Three days later, more than 700,000 people voted for the PUP, which could end up with three senators.

Mr Palmer is evasive about the extent of his wealth, despite regularly citing his personal fortune in political debate. In June he put his wealth at $6 billion. He now denies saying this.

"This year, the Murdoch press, who are my great friends and allies, said that I had a $2.2bn wealth and I was the richest man in Queensland," he said. "So I would never argue with the Murdoch press."

* Flukey is Palmer-speak for flunkey; a liveried servant; a footman.